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yeah  .. 

hopefully someone can find a decent write up on the movie ...  I was thinking about trying to rewrite the thing but  I didn't have the patience  heh.

Arts : Esperanto dialogues in new Spanish film 'The Pedal Car'
Posted by Ian Fantom on 2004/1/22 16:24:57 (164 reads)

Cinema audiences throughout Spain are to hear dialogues in Esperanto, spoken by well-known actors, in a new comedy drama film released on January 16, 2004. Set in the Franco era, El coche de pedales [The Pedal Car] is about Pablito, a nine-year-old boy, whose quest for a pedal car takes him on a strange journey into a colourful family background, reflecting the social stresses of the times.

Pablito's father, Don Pablo, is the head of an academy in the provincial capital, who teaches all sorts of things from caligraphy to Esperanto. Don Pablo's father, Abuelo is a political activist, who dreams of world harmony, and wants Esperanto to become a common language for all humanity.

Esperanto is heard from time to time early in the film, but the audience doesn't know what the language is until a dispute arises at the dinner table, when Don Pablo makes a comment in Esperanto to sympathising Falangists at the dinner table. He is promptly told off by his in-laws for supporting the "language with no future". But then his daughter starts talking about her Esperanto friends in Russia, and so the story unfolds.

The Spanish Esperanto Federation has been working closely with the producers and actors since January 2003. They translated various fragments of scripts, and helped the actors with correct pronunciation. Esperanto speakers were also to hand during filming, so that they could help out with any practical details. (see their website report)

"The whole cast was very positive about Esperanto", said helper Augusto Casquero, seen here with actor Alex Angulo (Don Pablo) , left, and producer Ramón Barea. "For them .... it was an interesting discovery", he told Esperanto Britain. "I am pleased that, for the first time, Esperanto has a chance to show itself on film in Spain", commented aother helper, Marcos Cruz. "The film is fairly true to life in that era", he added.

The film featured in a pre-release showing at the opening night of the Festival de Cine Iberoamericano de Huelva last year. Expats in Barcelona can also see the film in English

Other films which include some Esperanto are Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator, Andrew Niccol's science fiction drama Gattaca, and the television sci-fi sitcom Red Dwarf. The film Incubus, starring William Shatner, of Startrek fame, is entirely in Esperanto (See the Wickiepedia).

For anyone with suitable multimedia equipment (Shockwave and an mp3 player), there are pictures and sound clips of The Pedal Car. The argument about Esperanto is on Track 5, starting with the words "Tre bongusta" [Very tasty]."Tre bongusta".

Thanks cal and Boy55 for the information on this film. I will be looking for it on the festival circuit this year.

Thanks all for the information. It looks like it's another good movie from Spain. Funny: from the pictures you can almost tell that the movie was made in Spain. Every country has its own specific style of making movies, the particular subjects etc etc.

This one looks like another fine movie in the tradition of La Lengua de las Mariposas, Valentin and El Espinazo del Diablo.

'soles' :cwm39: